


We'll Find Each Other Again

by secretlyamartian



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Bittersweet Ending, Break Up, College, F/M, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:35:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28275444
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/secretlyamartian/pseuds/secretlyamartian
Summary: A few seconds passes before she hears muffled footsteps approaching.Another second, maybe two, and the handle turns.Another, and the door opens.Then the sinking feeling that had plagued her ever since she was on that flight from New York is filled. She doesn’t feel that awful anchor weighing her down anymore, the one that obnoxiously keeps dread settled in the pit of her stomach.And all that because of the sight of Percy.***Or, a college break-up Percabeth fanfic for which no one asked but I wrote anyways.
Relationships: Annabeth Chase & Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson
Comments: 2
Kudos: 28





	We'll Find Each Other Again

Annabeth would like to think that she and Percy lost each other during their time at college. She would really, really, _really_ like to blame the time difference, the distance, and the insane amount of coursework that accompanied postsecondary education as the reason they drifted apart.

But she can’t do that because their drifting apart happened before they experienced any of those things. They had everything sorted out, or as much as any 18-year-olds could have sorted out. They’d decided to attend university in New York: she at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn and he at Stony Brook University in well...Stony Brook. Their locations weren’t exactly close, but at least they’d be in the same state and be able to see each other after an hour-long drive. After graduation, they’d find a nice place to move in together, work at their respective jobs, and see how their life together would go from there.

Then they stumbled upon a hell of a turning point when Percy received his acceptance letter to UCLA. Not only was he accepted to one of the best schools for marine sciences but also offered a full scholarship. Stony Brook provided a good curriculum for Percy’s intended major, but UCLA provided all that—perhaps even more; it was considered a Public Ivy university for gods' sake—and a full ride. Naturally, Percy didn’t want to consider the offer, not when his family and Annabeth were in New York.

And naturally, they knew how much he wanted to go and urged him to do it.

Annabeth and Percy thought they could make it. They’d thought that being in different parts of the country for school would be nothing compared to all that they’ve been through together since the age of 12.

But despite their best efforts, despite the assurances that their long history together would get them through college, they lost each other.

They weren’t surprised, not at first. They knew any long-distance couple would hit this bump eventually. But they never expected it to reach a point when their daily phone calls turned weekly (sometimes nearly a month had passed by and neither has called the other), when their playful banters escalated to spiteful arguments, when their relationship became a murky, tangled mess instead of the happily-ever-after they naively thought they’d have. It was a point neither of them thought they’d hit because if anyone could make it through this, it was them.

Yet in the end, she was just Annabeth Chase and he was just Percy Jackson—two people who hopelessly loved and lost each other.

Now, Annabeth stands outside of his apartment, three thousand miles away from her home, gathering the courage to say good-bye to him.

Well, she’s standing just as much as she is pacing, but it’s not every day that someone will fly across the country just to end a relationship.

(She was the daughter of Athena and he was raised by Sally Jackson, after all; they knew that proper courtesy for breaking up involved doing so in person)

Annabeth detests the word “end”, but it’s the only one that best defines whatever the hell she and Percy are going to do. They certainly aren’t going to “pause” their relationship and “go on a break.” That always leads to messes, and they had had enough of those to last a lifetime.

“End” has such an all-or-nothing feeling to it, though. Can you end a relationship with someone you still love? Can you put a definite stop to a love built on years of trust, respect, and friendship, like putting a cork on a bottle?

Annabeth raises her hand to knock, but it’s those questions that make her pull it back just before it makes contact with the door. So what if they had a few arguments? Couples were supposed to butt heads sometimes. It doesn’t mean they have to do this.

When Percy opens the door, she could kiss him until her lungs start to burn. She could unbottle all the ugly emotions—the resentment she’d felt when he chose to attend a school all the way across the country and the guilt that followed because it was _her_ who pushed him to go—she’d compressed while he was gone, and she could tell him how much she missed him. She could tell him that their idea to give each other space was horrible, that even though she could adapt to living without him, she didn’t _want_ to, goddammit.

Annabeth could do all this and not have to go back to New York, alone and heartbroken. It was simple.

But she knows she can't because doing all those things will only grant temporary happiness. It won’t be long before the issues that made them do this in the first place rise up again. The once-a-month video calls, the arguments, the regretful conversations that follow—they’ll be back to square one. She’ll be standing outside his door, contemplating the two of them, again.

The downfall of her and Percy is inevitable, and she has to accept that.

The realization slows her pacing to a stop in front of the door. Every fiber of her body yells at her to stop, but she ignores it and gently raps on the door before doubt gets the best of her again.

A few seconds passes before she hears muffled footsteps approaching.

Another second, maybe two, and the handle turns.

Another, and the door opens.

Then the sinking feeling that had plagued her ever since she was on that flight from New York is filled. She doesn’t feel that awful anchor weighing her down anymore, the one that obnoxiously keeps dread settled in the pit of her stomach.

And all that because of the sight of Percy.

Percy with his sea green eyes in which she would happily drown. Percy with his crown of jet black hair, perpetually tousled despite his best efforts to groom it. Percy with his boyishly-handsome smile, reducing her to a pool of honey. Percy with his… his _Percy-ness_ that makes her feel like she’s home.

“Annabeth.” He crosses the doorway and pulls her into an embrace. She buries her nose in the crook of his neck, breathing in his scent, as her fingertips lightly trace the chorded muscles on his back. She wants to memorize the feeling of him before she leaves not knowing when they would see each other again. She hopes they would. They were friends before their relationship developed into something romantic, and just because they’re breaking up doesn’t mean they can’t be friends and see each other again … right? She holds on tighter just in case her hope goes unanswered.

“Hi Percy.” When they pull apart, she sees that his eyes no longer hold the same brightness that was present when he greeted her. That goddamn sinking feeling returns, reminding that Annabeth that brightness has no place on this day.

Percy points a thumb over his shoulder. “Do you want to go inside? Or are we … this whole thing”—he gestures vaguely around them, a flush creeping up his neck—“out here? I’m not sure how we’re supposed to y-you know.” He stops abruptly and rubs a hand across his face. “Gods, what are we doing?”

A giggle bubbles past Annabeth’s lips. “One might think we’d have the answer to that question by now. Why don’t we just head in and see how it goes?”

Nodding, Percy places his hand at the small of her back. For a moment everything seems fine because Percy’s here and he’s touching her and Annabeth feels okay. But then he’s guiding her into his apartment, and she sees the little potted plants on the seating area of the bay window; she sees books scattered across the dining table; she sees the endless picture frames and figurines on the two bookshelves sandwiching the TV stand.

She sees all the little things showing that this isn't merely a place where he’d lived for the past three years. It's a home.

“Can I get you something to drink?”

Percy’s voice interrupts her thoughts, resulting in her blinking several times at him before realizing that he asked her a question.

“I just wanted to know if I could get you a drink,” he explains before she could ask him to repeat his question.

She smiles sheepishly. “Sorry about that. I’m good. You don’t need to get me anything.”

“It’s fine. I just—I don’t know. I was hoping that if I… that if I could you know…” he makes a gesture similar to the vague one while they were outside.

Annabeth takes pity on him and decides to fill in the blank. “Bring some semblance of normalcy to this?”

“Yeah. Exactly.”

“Well, we could bring some more normalcy to this if we head to the couch. ‘Cause that would be a normal thing to do if this was a normal situation.”

They make their way to the couch and settle in against the gray cushions. A sliver of space separates them, one small enough to give off an air of intimacy every time their shoulders touch but big enough to remind themselves of the reason behind Annabeth’s visit. “Right. And then we would ask normal questions, like ones about the weather and school and job prospects after graduation.”

“And we would give normal answers, like the weather is really nice, school is fine, and the job hunt is challenging but fun.”

“Normal conversations among a normal cou—normal people on a normal day.”

Annabeth wishes that he didn’t correct “couple” to “people” but brushes that thought away. She needs to finish her task before the ache behind her eyes and the tingle in her nose grows, before leaving Percy will be harder than it already is. She turns so that she’s facing his side profile. She lays one arm on top of the backrest and props her chin on her hand. “But this isn’t going to be a normal conversation, and we’re not normal people on a normal day.” She says this on a thread of sound, not because she chooses to, but because she can’t get past the lump in her throat.

Percy angles his body so that he’s mirroring her position. “Not at all.”

“We have to rip off the band-aid.”

“Absolutely.” His eyes are no longer just plain sea green. They’re now overlapping waves of turquoise and cerulean with specks of emerald as he… he leans in closer?

“It’ll hurt at first, but it’ll get better.” Her breath hitches on the last syllable.

“Yes.”

 _Oh my gods, he’s right there, Annabeth_ , her brain whispers. _Four inches away_.

“It’s for the best.”

 _Three, now_.

“Of course.”

 _Two_.

“We have to do this.”

 _One_.

Then his lips come crashing down on hers.

She hooks her arms around his shoulders, pulling him closer until she can feel the definitions of his muscles through their clothes, as he wounds his fingers in her curls. Her body erupts in flames, the three years of only seeing Percy during school breaks fueling them. She would burn in his arms just as happily as she would drown in his eyes.

The need for air pulls them apart, and Annabeth’s body screams at the loss. She fixes her gaze on her lap; there would be no taming the temptation to press against him and kiss him until she forgot her name if she looked at him again. Annabeth came here with one purpose and one purpose only. But of course, she just had to act like a horny teenager, unbottle her repressed desires, and make everything so much more difficult. How the hell was she supposed to say goodbye after _that_?

Annabeth mentally sighs at her recklessness. _It doesn’t matter now, Chase; you have to stay on task. Tear off the band-aid before it hurts too much to do so_.

Letting out an (actual) sigh, she lifts her head to face Percy. His mouth opens, but she speaks before he has the chance to vocalize his thoughts, not wanting anything he says to distract and delay her from this.

“I don’t want to this b—”

“I still love you.”

Apparently he has the same urgency that she does. Only his urgency hinders her progress.

“Percy…” She wants to echo his words, to show him that she hates whatever has befallen them, but the tightness in her throat traps the syllables from forming.

“I know.” He reaches out to brush a strand of hair from her face. “I-I didn’t want to interrupt, but I just wanted you to know.” His eyes are now rimmed in red, and she suspects hers mirrors them. “I know we have to do this. I just wished it didn’t have to be so damn hard.”

“Me too,” she murmurs.

Several beats of silence envelope them.

Then: “It’s going to be okay, Annabeth.”

Annabeth shakes her head lightly. Normally she would welcome his optimism with open arms, but in their current situation, she knows it will only lead to false hope. She’d rather hurt than dream of a future that they both know was uncertain. “How can you say that?”

“Because I know we’ll find each other again.” The conviction in his tone spreads over her like a soothing balm, but she forces herself to counter him.

“You don’t know for sure, Percy.”

“Maybe not ‘for sure,’ but I know that love’s a choice. I choose to love you, Annabeth Chase, and I choose to work and fix us after we’ve fixed ourselves.

"We’re letting each other go now, but I’m choosing to come back to you after this if you’ll have me.”

For a while, Annabeth just holds his gaze.

Then she nods. She nods because Percy wants to fix them just as much as she does, because there is still hope.

Percy leans in and cradles her face as Annabeth interlocks her fingers in the curls at the nape of his neck. _Almost like our first kiss_ , she recalls with a teary smile before closing the distance between them.

The kiss isn’t as heated as their previous one; it’s slower and gentler—the waves in a calm sea instead of the magma in a volcano that threatens to erupt from its constraint and scorch any surface it touches.

It’s a goodbye.

But Annabeth knows it’s not a permanent one, and she’d bet her left arm that Percy knows it as well.

When they part, he brushes a tear from her face, the boyishly-handsome smile that she adores gracing his lips. “We’ll find each other again,” he repeats softly.

Annabeth believes him.

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my first posted fanfic ^-^ I sort of love it and hate it, so I don't mind if you didn't enjoy it. It was just lurking in my pile of unfinished stories for so long, I had to do something *final* with it. Anyways, thank you so much for reading!!


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